Hey guys,

I recently bought a new laptop and in the future I would like to buy a MOTU or Mackie firewire interface so I can start out with 8 ch recording. Then later on, I would add more interfaces for up to 24 ch. I have tons of technical questions, but I want to start by asking about the possibilities of firewire recording. I have read that USB is generally not good enough for simultaneous multitrack recording, so I was wondering about the capabilities of firewire. I know it depends a lot on the processor and memory, but am I going to be able to acheive 24ch multitracking through firewire? I know that the system may be more stable when using a PCI module on a desktop, but I would like to be mobile. Any thoughts or experiences?

thanks!

Presonus makes an entry level 8 channel pre/converter that is stackable to 24 channels to Firewire.

There are many portable recording rigs using these, with good results.
I've used them, not the best converters or pre's but for what they do at their price point, they're considered one of the best bang for your buck units out there.

You can possibly get 24 channels of the old model Firepod for less than $600.00 in the used market.

Nothing against firewire because I know that there are good stable systems out there. Just another option to consider is an RME Multiface II with a cardbuss card. Stability issues wouldn't be an issue anymore. I really love mine.

thanks for the input. I am currently looking at the MOTU 896 mk III. It may not have the best pre-amps, but I specifically like it because of the multiple digital I/O and all the analog inputs are xlr balanced. I'm pretty adament against 1/4", especially if I'm spending a lot of money for it. I've worked with numerous patch bays that even go bad/get dirty, and I think xlr is more reliable.

I checked out the RME interface, and that looks interesting as well, except I see the PCMCIA card available. My new laptop only has the new express card slot though.

I'm not going to buy anything soon, but I really like what I see in the MOTU unit. I have also looked into a similar one from Mackie, in which the preamps may be better, or worse. A lot of people don't care for mackie preamps.

My main concern is the firewire bus capacity. Will I be disappointed when I am trying to get into 24 channels later on?? I have a toshiba with dual core centrino, 3GB ram, and Vista. I may have to install XP instead. I am currently using Sonar LE on my desktop, but if I setup this laptop for recording, I am going to get the full version.

I was going low budget, for sure.

The RME stuff kicks the Presonus stuff to the curb, but cost considerably more also. But has Firewire 800 and that just smokes into a good quality Firewire 800 card.

I have no experience with the Motu 896, but there's a bunch of new stuff coming all the time.

Good luck in your search

FWIW I had a Motu firewire unit right before my RME unit. It suffered from drop-outs quite a bit more than I had patience for. Could have been something wrong with my unit I don't know but I quickly sold it and went with the RME. The RME unit hasn't even hicupped once in the 2 years I've been using it. Just amazing boxes, drivers, and the totalmix software interface is awesome. I'm just a little sceptical about firewire I guess.

the M-Audio Profire 2626 got a great review in a recent Audio Technology mag.
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I have been using the an 896HD for over four years now and have had no issues. I've used it with both Sonar (3PE) and Digital Performer (4.61) and had no trouble integrating it into either system. I just (today) purchased the new 896mk3, which should be coming later on in the week. The new CueMix features look fantastic, the pads on each channel are probably what I'm most excited about, and the increased ADAT I/O is cool too. The sound quality isn't phenomenal, but it's certainly not crap either.

The M-Audio unit looks really cool, but the phantom power is only switchable in banks of 4. That kills it completely for me, personally. Also, the DSP mixer looks a little lacking to me.

Thanks for all the input! i had a question for Contrast. With sonar, how do you setup the inputs for each channel when using the 896?

I am just curious becuase right now I am using SOnar LE with my EMU1212m, and you have to route everything with ASIO drivers, which come in stereo pairs. It is a little confusing, and limiting as well. So, I was just curious, I is pretty straightforward when using a Motu cue mix setup? Does it still run off of ASIO?

Also, I did look into the RME multiface, but I would really like to get something with XLR on the analog. It's a much better investment in the long run.

When, and if, I can ever buy this, it will be my base for multitracking that I can add to in the future.

Honestly, I don't really remember. It's been about four years since I last used Sonar, and I can't really remember how I set it up. But, I do remember that it wasn't that difficult, and it worked fine after it was set up.

I Have started using Sonar Home with a FirePod. Not two many problme doing eight at once. I believe I am not using the ASIO driver but the channels always appear as a pair of inputs and you choose Left or Right (there are 4 channels for the FirePod. Also running XP on a Dell workstation. Note when recording you should distable your network connections, I always find the network interrupts will cause glitches. In my case the workstation has a wireless card to the DSL router/wireless unit. There is so much installed software now that is constantly checking for the availability of the internet and if it sees it's up, are making calls out to servers for updates etc. I have had no problems precording 8 tracks at once with only a single 3 ghz CPU on firewire.

Check out the Motu Traveler, Very Light weight with all the features you are looking for.

I use a Motu 828 Mk2, and love it! A great buy for the money. I'd check out the new 828mk3 . I guess it really depends on your budget.